Top 20 Indiana basketball players of all-time
Indiana basketball career stats: 22.7 PPG, 13.4 REB, 44.5 FG%, 68 GP
Archie Dees averaged 25.5 points and 14.4 rebounds in his final season in Bloomington under Branch McCracken. The 6-foot-8 center led the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounding and earned himself First Team All-Big Ten honors and Second Team Consensus All-American honors in 1957-58, behind guys on the first team with the names of Elgin Baylor (Seattle), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati), and Wilt Chamberlain (Kansas).
In the 1958 NCAA Tournament, Dees recorded 28 points and 15 rebounds in a loss to Notre Dame and 25 points and 14 rebounds in a win against Miami (Ohio). Those were his only two career NCAA Tournament games.
In just three short seasons in the 1950s in Bloomington, Archie Dees made a lasting impact on the Indiana basketball program and is still ranked in the top 10 in the following statistical categories for career and single-season numbers:
- Points per game: 22.7 (2nd)
- Free throws made: 432 (7th)
- Free throw percentage: 82.8% (5th)
- Total rebounds: 914 (4th)
- Total rebounds per game: 13.4 (2nd)
- Free throws made (single season): 176 in 1956-57 (10th)
- Total rebounds (single season): 345 in 1957-58 (4th) & 317 in 1956-57 (8th)
- Points per game (single season): 25.5 in 1957-57(4th) & 25.0 in 1956-57 (7th)
- Total rebounds per game (single season): 14.4 in 1956-57 (5th) & 14.4 in 1957-58 (5th)
Although he was left off the First Team Consensus All-American team, Dees was selected second overall by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1958 NBA Draft behind Elgin Baylor. Dees only played in four NBA seasons and averaged just 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 190 career games. If Dees played four seasons in Bloomington, he would likely rank top five in most statistical categories.